History Recap / AlfredJKwakS1E20DeNachtmerrie

It's summer, And Alfred is swimming and diving in the river while Henk is sleeping in his scarf at the riverbank. He wakes up and is taken aback by how late it has gotten, and tells Alfred it's time to go home since it has been three hours already. Alfred asks for fifteen more minutes, which Henk agrees to, and resumes playing in the water. Meanwhile, Henk admires the flower field.

In the evening at Alfred's house, Alfred is watching a singer on tv while Henk reads a newspaper. Alfred initially thinks that Henk's exclamation is about the song and Henk thinks Alfred is talking about the news, but Henk notices the confusion when Alfred mentions the singer, and explains that he's talking about a news article. Some faraway country is suffering from drought, and Alfred and Henk talk about it's causes; lack of rain, inability to store rainwater, inability to transport water from elsewhere, and the people not having the means to pump water from the ground. They agree that the situation is horrible, and Henk goes home when Alfred starts reading the article and agonizes over how everybody in the country is starving because they can't water the crops. He goes to sleep worrying.


Alfred has a dream where he's riding a non-anthropomorphic grey horse in a white, bright void that morphes into a vast green meadow. He realizes he's dreaming and enjoys it, knowing that he won't get hurt for real no matter what happens. Suddendly the horse starts rising in the air, leaving the meadow and galloping on the sky over fields, forests, rivers, snowy mountains, and lakes, until they arrive to a rocky desert scap that turn into sand dunes. The horse lands on a dune where it keeps galloping until Alfred tells it to stop and take him back home, when it promptly throws Alfred off it's back and runs away, leaving him stranded. Alfred sits on the ground until the hot sand burns him and he starts walking. He reminds himself that he's just dreaming and will be okay, but trying to force himself to awaken doesn't work and he worries that the actual reason he's hot could be that his house is on fire.

After some wandering, Alfred finds a small village in the middle of the desert, surrounded by dead trees and no people outside. He finds a rat and asks him for water. The rat points to a dilapilated well, but the tap's switch is stuck. When Alfred unstucks it, he puts his beak directly under the tap before turning it on, resulting in him getting a mouthful of rust and another rat, Sergo, laughing at him and telling him that the water stopped coming a long time ago. Alfred loses his temper at Sergo and demands water, and when he mentions that he's dreaming Sergo laughs, telling him that this is not a dream and that Alfred's thirst is just as real as his. Sergo introduces himself, and Alfred tells him his own name while still believing that it's a dream.

They're interrupted by the sudden noises that Sergo says are foreign aid. Alfred is confused by how Sergo is unhappy and the other villagers running indoors, when the transportation pelicans start dropping large and heavy bags that almost crush Alfred and Sergo also flees. Alfred trips and notices one bag contains powdered milk, which is useless without water, and the other bags contain things like winter coats and cans without can openers. Sergo still thanks the transportation pelicans when they fly away. He tells Alfred that what they actually need is not peoples' old coats but cotton underclothes. The other bags contain things like cans without can openers, and no water. Sergo tells Alfred that there's only one can opener in the whole community wishing that the people who "help" them would stop to think about what would actually help, and Alfred agrees that many of the objects are completely useless to the villagers. Suddendly the singer Alfred saw on television, Leifeet, shows up and complains about their critism.

Alfred wonders why Leifeet is there but attributes it to dream logic, while Leifeet himself explains that he's there to deliver the aid personally and brags about how he's helping the suffering. Alfred wonders how he has time to come there since he's doing television work, while Leifeet poses for publicity pictures and chases Alfred and Sergo out of the frame so that the conditions are clealer to see in the background. Alfred asks him how he got there, and Leifeet says he came on the helicopter that landed outside the village, revealing that he somehow knows Alfred's name and thst he knows Alfred watched his show in the evening, claiming to know "all kinds of things". He then leaves to look for good filming places with his photographers. Alfred is sure that he's dreaming.

Sergo shows Alfred around, explaining that even if the people can leave they still don't want to despite the horrible conditions, because the village is everything they've ever known, which Alfred understands. Sergo explains that since they can't control the rain their only hope is to find water from the ground, explaining to Alfred that if they get water plants will start growing around it, and the plants will evaporate water, which would create rain clouds. Alfred is surprised to learn that rain can ne created in such a way, and Sergo admits that he doesn't really know but he's been told so. He despairs that nothing they can do is enough a d they'll never be able to start farming, forcing them to rely on the aid of foreign countries to survive. They watch Leifeet's helicopter leaving, and Sergo tells Alfred that while people mean good, most of their aid is still useless.

He shows Alfred a fenced field where two people are forcing fruitlessly, explaining that almost nothing grows despite their best efforts, and Alfred realizes that what they need are canals, but Sergo explains that building them can take five to ten years, but he's sure that it's going to get better somehow. In the school, a non-local cat is telling the students that while they're hungry and thirsty they still need to, telling them that while they think school is useless they're wrong and they need to study harder so that they can make their country rich and prosperous so that they won't be hungry anymore. Alfred and Sergo are watching from the door, and Alfred remarks that the children can't learn while they're starving, while Sergo is looking forwards to the day when those children can change their country. After leaving, Alfred and Sergo find three locals eating the powdered milk, and Sergo warns them that the poweder is only going to make them thirstier. Alfred's own thirst is also growing when one of Sergo notices a dark cloud, and Alfred opens his beak to rainwater, only for it to end quickly and for the sun to come back. The light blinds Alfred and he wakes up.

Waking up in his house, when sunlight hits his face, Alfred immediately rushes to drink water.

Later, Alfred is sitting in the riverbank and asking Henk to estimate how much money would building a channel cost since he's a mining expert. Henk explains that the cost depends on several factors, like the canal's lenght and the type of terrain. Henk asks what Alfred is planning, and he explains that he's going to build a canal to the country the talked about yesterday. Henk tells Alfred that it's a kind thought but he doubts that he'll succeed because he can never afford it, while Alfred thinks that the two of them can do it, find other people who want to help, and form a committee. Henk asks Alfred where he's going to get all that money.

Alfred shows Henk the device he has designed, for cutting and collecting reed,which Henk dubs a reedmower. Alfred explains that ducks and other waterfowls who eat reed having big families will make the reedmower a commercial success. Henk promises to help him, and Alfred goes on to tell Ollie, Pikkie, and Hannes about the plan in hopes that they'll also help. Henk starts believing in the plan and suggests that they need somebody famous to support them and spread the word, though the only person he can come up with is the king, and Alfred doesn't think that helping people would interest the king, though you'll never know. Henk agrees, saying that he's heard that the king doesn't care about politics either, causing Alfred to wonder about what ''is'' the king interested in then, if not in ruling.

In the castle, it's revealed that Franz Ferdinand is the king now,and he's bathing in hot lemonade. One of his subordinates arrives to tell him that he's bathed for over two hours, and Sparrowland 's ambassador has already waited long to meet him. Franz tells the subordinate to conduct the meeting in his stead while he continues bathing, but the subordinate explains that Franz needs to sign some papers. Franz complains about how hard everything is, but does rise from the bath.

In the evening Alfred is running home when Ollie flies up to him, and Alfred happily explains that he has already sold two reedmowers on the first day, and he has to hurry home to keep the money safe. Ollie congratulates Alfred and lands to hhandhim money that he has collected for the charity project, and they agree that they don't need famous peoples' help after all and ordinary people can do big things on their own, even though they don't have enough money yet. Ollie then leans in to whisper that Alfred needs to be careful because the word about their project has spread, and everybody also knows that the money is stored in Alfred's house. Alfred promises to be careful because the money is very important.

When Alfred goes inside, Dolf is revealed to have been hiding in the tree next to the house, and he glides down to spy on Alfred through the window when he's marking the new money in the inventory. However, Dolf doesn't see where Alfred takes the lockbox and Henk -who has come to visit Alfred- catches him peering at the window. Dolf feigns innocence, claiming that he was just going to visit Alfred to check on him, but chamged his mind because he looked busy. Dolf runs away with Henk yelling after him, but Alfred laughs it off when Henk tells him about Dolf, sure that nobody can steal the money. Be asks if Henk came to bring him something and Henk says that they had agreed to have a dinner together. Alfred is shocked because he had forgotten the whole thing and rushes to the kitchen to put something together, though Henk says he doesn't mind. While Alfred makes food, Henk still worries about possible thieves.

After some wandering, Alfred finds a small village in the middle of the desert, surrounded by dead trees and no people outside. He finds a rat and asks him for water. The rat points to a dilapilated well, but the tap's switch is stuck. When Alfred unstucks it, he puts his beak directly under the tap before turning it on, resulting in him getting a mouthful of rust and another rat laughing at him and telling him that the water stopped coming a long time ago. Alfred loses his temper at the rat and demands water, and when he mentions that he's dreaming the rat laughs. The rat tells him that this is not a dream and that Alfred's thirst is just as real as the rat's. The rat introduces himself, and Alfred tells him his own name while still believing that it's a dream.

They're interrupted by the sudden noises that the rat says are foreign aid. Alfred is confused by how the rat is unhappy and the other villagers running indoors, when the transportation pelicans start dropping large and heavy bags that almost crush Alfred and the brown rat also flees. Alfred trips and notices one bag contains bowdered milk, which is useless without water, and the other bags contain things like winter coats and cans without can openers. The rat still thanks the transportation pelicans when they fly away. He tells Alfred that what they actually need is not people's old coats but cotton underclothes. The other bags contain things like cans without can openers, and no water. The rat tells Alfred that there's only one can opener in the whole community wishing that the people who "help" them would stop to think about what would actually help, and Alfred agrees that many of the objects are completely useless to the villagers. Suddendly the singer Alfred saw on television, Leifeet, shows up and complains about their critism.

Alfred wonders why Leifeet is there but attributes it to dream logic, while Leifeet himself explains that he's there to deliver the aid personally and brags about how he's helping the suffering. Alfred wonders how he has time to come there since he's doing television work, while Leifeet poses for publicity pictures and chases Alfred and the rat out of the frame so that the conditions are clealer to see in the background. Alfred asks him how he got there, and Leifeet says he came on the helicopter that landed outside the village, revealing that he somehow knows Alfred's name and thst he knows Alfred watched his show in the evening, claiming to know "all kinds of things". He then leaves to look for good filming places with his photographers. Alfred is sure that he's dreaming.

The rat shows Alfred around, explaining that even if the people can leave they still don't want to despite the horrible conditions, because the village is everything they've ever known, which Alfred understands. The rat explains that since they can't control the rain their only hope is to find water from the ground, explaining to Alfred that if they get water plants will start growing around it, and the plants will evaporate water, which would create rain clouds. Alfred is surprised to learn that rain can ne created in such a way, and the rat admits that he doesn't really know but he's been told so. He despairs that nothing they can do is enough a d they'll never be able to start farming, forcing them to rely on the aid of foreign countries to survive. They watch Leifeet's helicopter leaving, and the rat tells Alfred that while people mean good, most of their aid is still useless.

He shows Alfred a fenced field where two people are forcing fruitlessly, explaining that almost nothing grows despite their best efforts, and Alfred realizes that what they need are canals, but the rat explains that building them can take five to ten years, but he's sure that it's going to get better somehow. In the school, a non-local cat is telling the students that while they're hungry and thirsty they still need to, telling them that while they think school is useless they're wrong and they need to study harder so that they can make their country rich and prosperous so that they won't be hungry anymore. Alfred and the rat are watching from the door, and Alfred remarks that the children can't learn while they're starving, while the rat is looking forwards to the day when those children can change their country. After leaving, Alfred and the rat find three locals eating the powdered milk, and the rat warns them that the poweder is only going to make them thirstier. Alfred's own thirst is also growing when one of the rats notices a dark cloud, and Alfred opens his beak to rainwater, only for it to end quickly and for the sun to come back. The light blinds Alfred and he wakes up.

** The finnish dub has the brown rat's name as Severi.

They're interrupted by the sudden noises that the rat says are foreign aid. Alfred is confused by how the rat is unhappy and the other villagers running indoors, when the transportation pelicans start dropping large and heavy bags that almost crush Alfred and the brown rat also flees. Alfred trips and notices one bag contains bowdered milk, which is useless without water, and the other bags contain things like winter coats and cans without can openers. The rat still thanks the transportation pelicans when they fly away. He tells Alfred that what they actually need is not people's old coats but cotton underclothes. The other bags contain things like cans without can openers, and no water. The rat tells Alfred that there's only one can opener in the whole community wishing that the people who "help" them would stop to think about what would actually help, and Alfred agrees that many of the objects are completely useless to the villagers. Suddendly the singer Alfred saw on television shows up and complains about their critism.

Alfred wonders why the singer is there but attributes it to dream logic, while the singer himself explains that he's there to deliver the aid personally and brags about how he's helping the suffering. Alfred wonders how he has time to come there since he's doing television work, while the singer poses for publicity pictures and chases Alfred and the rat out of the frame so that the conditions are clealer to see in the background. Alfred asks him how he got there, and the singer says he came on the helicopter that landed outside the village, revealing that he somehow knows Alfred's name and thst he knows Alfred watched his show in the evening, claiming to know "all kinds of things". He then leaves to look for good filming places with his photographers. Alfred is sure that he's dreaming.

The rat shows Alfred around, explaining that even if the people can leave they still don't want to despite the horrible conditions, because the village is everything they've ever known, which Alfred understands. The rat explains that since they can't control the rain their only hope is to find water from the ground, explaining to Alfred that if they get water plants will start growing around it, and the plants will evaporate water, which would create rain clouds. Alfred is surprised to learn that rain can ne created in such a way, and the rat admits that he doesn't really know but he's been told so. He despairs that nothing they can do is enough a d they'll never be able to start farming, forcing them to rely on the aid of foreign countries to survive. They watch the singer's helicopter leaving, and the rat tells Alfred that while people mean good, most of their aid is still useless.

* TakeThat: The singer is one to celebrities who only do charity as a publicity stunt.

** The finnish dub calls the singer "Leevi Laulaja". It's unclear if it's meant to be interpreted as "Leevi Singer" like a full name or "Leevi the singer" like a first name and profession.

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Prince Franz Ferdinand is shown to have become the king, and his father is never mentioned again in this episode nor the future ones. One can assume that Dolf's prediction about his impending death in episode 12 was accurate.